3 Package Bombings In Austin, Texas Believed To Be Linked

AUSTIN, Texas (WCBS 880) -- Police in Austin, Texas said there were enough “similarities” between three package explosions -- two of them deadly -- to lead them to believe the incidents were related.

Before 7 a.m. Monday, there was an explosion in a home in the Windsor Park neighborhood that left a 17-year-old boy dead and a woman in her 40s severely injured, Austin police said.

In earlier incident on March 2, Anthony Stephan House, 39, was killed in a package explosion at his home in northeast Austin, CBS News reported.

“The incident (Monday) is very similar to the incident that occurred in Austin back on March 2,” Austin police Chief Brian Manley said.

Authorities on Monday responded to another explosion in southeast Austin that also left a woman severely injured the Associated Press reported. The second explosion happened near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, CBS Austin reported.

The 75-year-old victim was listed in critical, but stable condition and her injuries are believed to be life-threatening, Manley said.

All three incidents are believed to be related, he said.

"This is the third in what we believe to be related incidents," Manley said.

In the fatal incidents, the packages were apparently left on the doorsteps of the homes overnight and picked up and opened by the residents on in the early morning, CBS News reported. They were apparently dropped off on the doorsteps and were not delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, CBS News reported.

The third package also was not believed to be left by any official mail delivery service such as the postal service, UPS, FedEx, or DHL, Manley said.

My heart goes out to the family of the individual who died & was injured from the explosion on Old Fort Hill Dr. This type of crime will not be tolerated in #ATX. If you receive a package that you are not expecting or looks suspicious, DO NOT open it, call 911 immediately. pic.twitter.com/sJSYQZMziv

Manley told CBS News that investigators are not sure of a motive, but are considering whether race is a factor because all the victims in the fatal explosions were African-American. The woman injured in the third explosion was Hispanic, he said.

Manley also said a second package was found near the site of the deadly blast Monday, and some residents and news media members were evacuated or directed away as authorities determined whether it was also an explosive, the Associated Press reported.

Manley said Austin residents need to come together and be vigilant in the wake of the incidents.

“It’s not time to panic, but it’s time to be vigilant and it’s time to pay attention,” he said.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating.